The Duchess of Cambridge revealed that fatherhood during confinement left her “exhausted” and joked about her children retreating from “terror” when she became her hairdresser.
Kate, 39, spoke openly about the challenges of caring for Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, two, during a carefree conversation with a group of parents.
The royals, who spent most of the confinement in Amner Hall in Norfolk, also revealed that husband William, 38, was their biggest support during the pandemic.
The Duchess also urged families to ‘reach out to loved ones and friends’ to help them cope with their mental health.
When asked to assess her math skills, the duchess gave herself a score of minus five.
The Duchess of Cambridge revealed that parenting during confinement left her “exhausted” and joked about her children retreating from “terror” when she became her hairdresser
Kate participated in a discussion with three parents, whose children are studying at Roe Green Junior School in Kingsbury, northwest London, alongside principal Melissa Loosemore.
As part of a ‘show and tell’ exercise during the video call on Tuesday, the director instructed the group to write answers to questions with the first request – ‘a word that describes parenthood during this pandemic’.
The future queen raised the word “exhaustive”, while others joined in similar feelings, including “agitated”, “patience” and “defiant”.
After being asked to explain her decision by the principal, Kate said: ‘I think that as parents you have the elements of day-to-day parenting, but I suppose that during the block we had to take on additional roles that perhaps in our communities, or in our lives, it would have perhaps supported and helped us with. ‘
Kate, 39, spoke openly about the challenges of caring for Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, two, during a carefree conversation with a group of parents. Kate is photographed with Prince William and her children in June 2019
Laughing, Kate added: ‘I became a hairdresser on this block, much to the horror of my children, seeing my mother cutting her hair.
‘We had to become teachers – and I think, personally, I feel pulled in so many different directions and you try your best at everything, but at the end of the day I feel exhausted.’
Mrs Loosemore agreed with the Duchess, saying: ‘Absolutely, absolutely. I think it’s probably something we can all share. ‘
Mother Nicole Seidemann, who has four children aged 11, nine, six and four, described herself as “definitely a full-time teacher now and struggling to do so much more”.
Royalty, who spent most of the confinement at Amner Hall in Norfolk, also revealed that husband William was her greatest support during the pandemic in a connection with her parents.
Asked to describe her home schooling experience, she repeated the Duchess’s comments, saying: ‘It’s exhausting at the end of the day.’
In another exercise, parents were asked to write down who had been their support during the pandemic.
While the other parents wrote ‘children’, ‘wife and children’ and ‘husband’, Kate paid homage to her husband with the word ‘William’.
For the third exercise, parents were asked to assess their math skills after several months of home study.
Kate participated in a discussion with three parents, whose children are studying at Roe Green Junior School in Kingsbury, northwest London, alongside principal Melissa Loosemore.
The Duchess of Cambridge also revealed that her children are “horrified” because she had to cut her hair
Self-deprecating Kate scored ‘minus 5’, while the others scored ‘eight’, but the parents explained that everyone improved dramatically during the block.
Kate laughed saying, ‘This is very good! Obviously, I am at the very end of the class. ‘
The duchess visited Roe Green Junior School in 2018 to launch her Mentally Healthy Schools program and the discussion covered some of the main issues raised by Kate’s striking research on children’s development in the early years, such as parents’ well-being and loneliness .
The royalty asked the group what they were doing for their own mental well-being and one parent mentioned exercise, while another highlighted the conversation with close friends.
Kate said: ‘Being able to share your own experience with other people who are going through the same thing makes it seem less scary and makes you feel less isolated, so it is very important to reach out to loved ones and friends.’